


We keep meeting

by TheAlwaysUsedTeaBag



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: ADD Aaron Burr, Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Attention Deficit Disorder, M/M, RSD Aaron Burr, Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, it sucks to have that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2019-04-18 08:49:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14209542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAlwaysUsedTeaBag/pseuds/TheAlwaysUsedTeaBag
Summary: Aaron and Alexander keep meeting. They meet at college, at bars, at clubs, on the street, in a café, and they keep running into each other at work. Little do they know what this really means for them.





	We keep meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Before you begin reading, I suggest you do a quick google search on ADD and RSD (Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria) to understand some things better, the statements Aaron will make about his (negative) feelings. The ADD and RSD is played down in this fic a lot, it would be a lot more obviously felt in real life for Aaron; speaking from experience.

Soulmates were something special, Aaron had been told. No one can make you as happy and as complete as your soulmate. Like a puzzle made of two pieces, both lost somewhere in the world, trying to find the other piece. Both had a mark, sitting on their wrist, but it would be incomplete, and their soulmate would have the other one. Their marks would become complete, with the mark of their soulmate, after they shared a kiss. It was a science that had just recently had a breakthrough. It was announced that soulmates were so drawn to each other, even subconsciously so, that, in an attempt to find the other, they would bump into each other frequently throughout their lives, without either really noticing until the soulmate was found. Aaron liked the thought of it, bumping into your soulmate. It had something humorous to it. Alexander wasn't sure how he felt about this, or soulmates in general.

Aaron first met Alexander in college. They were assigned roommates, and thus they had no choice but to run into each other, despite their classes being scheduled at different times. They didn't ask to see each other's marks and Aaron liked that, since he was a bit self-conscious of anything regarding his body. Aaron generally kept out of Alexander's business, but he did keep reminding him not to neglect his own health and get sleep. And, of course, at some point, they would be invited to the same party. While Alexander was drunk, his other friends taking a video of him, he had hung onto Aaron, who was sober - save for a single sip of beer, but he threw it away because it tasted horrendous - nuzzling into him and babbling about on how much he liked being around him. Eventually, the drunk Alexander asked the much too sober for this Aaron if he liked Alexander as much as Alexander liked him. 

_"Aaron," Alexander slurred, so obviously drunk and leaning on Aaron for support. "I-" he stopped and stuck out his tongue and giggled, "I like you. I like you a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot."_

_"Do you now?" Aaron asked, gulping as his heart, for a reason he couldn't quite grasp with his hands, sped up as though it was racing for a prize._

_"Yes! I like you soooooo much," and he stretched his arms, but almost lost balance and caught himself on Aaron's sturdy shoulder._

_"No, you don't, that's the alcohol," Aaron replied, as calmly as he could manage. It had gotten so hot in that room, he found. Alexander pouted, offended._

_"No! Fuck alcohol. Alcohol," he paused and put his head on Aaron's shoulder, cooing near his ear, "Alcohol doesn't like you. But I dooooooo. I like being here, by-by you. On your aaaarm."_

_"That's nice," Aaron said, petting Alexander's head, like one would pet a child's head while not taking it seriously. Alexander grinned goofily at this._

_"Heeeeeeeehh... Do you? Do you like me too? Because..." he paused again and nuzzled into Aaron's shoulder with the goofiest of grins, "Because I like you sooo much. Do you like me too? I like you, I like you. Like like you, I like you."_

_And Aaron went completely red and turned his head to the side, away from Alexander. His lips were shut tight, despite the easy and sugary sweet and feather-light words 'I like you too' begging to pass his lips, but they wouldn't budge, no matter how much the words tried to pry them open._

Aaron, and his sober mind flustered and racing, did not admit that he enjoyed Alexander's presence, and he had looked away. This, he had done to hide a blush, wondering why this man made him feel this way. Of course, this didn't translate that way to Alexander, neither drunk-

_"You don't like me?" Alexander asked, eyes wide and watery, so very close to tears and he began sobbing, "You don't like me?" And despite how bad Aaron felt as he watched the tears roll down Alexander's cheeks, despite how much he wanted to reach out and rub them away, his lips still remained tightly shut, his body still, as if frozen in time, enduring the glares Alexander's friends shot him as they took the sobbing Alexander with them._

-nor sober, because his friends had recorded the whole interaction on video and when Alexander had seen the video, well... He didn't take it too well. Aaron was just about to take his medication when Alexander had watched the video right in front of him. He was hurt, Aaron could tell, but he couldn't soothe that pain or, at least, his mouth was lacking the words to explain himself, his tongue grasping at words and spitting them back out because they tasted bitter and didn't fit. And thus, the incident was left unexplained.

_"You... didn't say anything when I said I liked you last night?" he asked, quietly, tentatively, for the first time that Aaron knew him, unsure of himself._

_"No, I didn't..." and he remained quiet after that, only speaking the words 'I was embarrassed and shy, and you were drunk. I was afraid you didn't mean it' in his head._

Alexander tried to avoid him from that point onward, Aaron not realising he was doing this to avoid things to become awkward for Aaron and because he was so embarrassed that he basically confessed his love to him - which he hadn't even realised at this point that it was love (or something like it) and not pure admiration he felt for Aaron-, and that Aaron had basically rejected him, and it hurt. And Aaron took this avoiding him as a sign that he had hurt Alexander to such an extent that he didn't want anything to do with him. And he accepted this as fact.

The second time they met was in a bar, three years after both of them had graduated college. Aaron wanted to forget his worries, thinking about drowning it in beer or another alcoholic beverage. He was having some financial troubles and only the fact that he only had a small amount of money left in his wallet (or bank account) kept him from getting more than one beer. He couldn't even afford the medication he needed. And then, Alexander and his friends John, Hercules and Gilbert (though everyone called him Lafayette) came into the same bar and sat down next to him at the counter, not noticing him and talking amongst themselves. It was only when Alexander, who sat on the stool right next to Aaron, leant back too far in laughter at a joke Aaron didn't quite catch (he wasn't intentionally listening, but they talked so loud he was forced out of his thoughts at times) and knocked over his glass, causing him to whip his head around with an apology on his lips and hand in his pocket to buy a drink to replace the one he knocked over, that Alexander noticed and recognised Aaron, the apology dying in his mouth and replaced by a surprised call of his name.

_"Aaron! What are you doing here?" he asked and Aaron sighed._

_"Spending my last money for today on this beer... I take it fate wants me to stay sober enough to experience her wrath and anger with me," he grumbled, staring at the spilt liquid on the counter, watching as the barkeeper cleaned it with a huff._

_"Don't be so melodramatic, Burr," came a French accent from behind Alexander, at whose comment Alexander snickered, shaking his head._

_"Oh, that's rich coming from you, Laf. You're the most melodramatic french fry there is on stage," Alexander shot and Lafayette gasped dramatically in a playful offence._

_"I am an actor! That is my job, my career, my life!" he exclaimed laying on the French accent extra thick._

_"Are you sure you're not more of a hypocrite than an actor?" Alexander teased and turned to face Aaron again. "Anyway, sorry about your drink. What was it? I'll get you another one," he smiled, and Aaron couldn't help to feel his day brighten a bit with it._

_"It was a Holsten beer," he replied and Alexander ordered one for him and paid for it._

_After that Alexander's attention was captured again by his friends as they kept talking and talking while Aaron quietly, and slowly, sipped at his beer, catching bits and parts of the conversation as he tuned in and out of reality, his mind drifting in an endless ocean. He just caught their conversation switching to the topic of college, and an uncomfortable memory of it was dragged back into his focus. A memory he would rather forget._

_"And you were so drunk, you flirted with Aaron! I think I still have the video!" John exclaimed and Alexander laughed, though he suddenly sounded uncomfortable._

_"I'd rather not see that again," he said and Hercules raised a brow._

_"Did he ever tell you why he didn't respond?" he asked and Alexander looked to the side, catching Aaron glance at him in his peripheral vision._

_"No... He never told me..." he said, clearing his throat, "Sorry, let's talk about something else."_

_"Nah, we have him here right now, we can ask him why didn't respond back then. Yo, Burr!" John called and Aaron turned his head slightly to look at him, expression empty, or perhaps resigned._

_"Yes?" he asked, but he had heard them, and he knew what they wanted._

_"Go on, dude, ask him," John poked Alexander who grimaced, but turned around. He found that Aaron's gaze was soft on him, with sympathy and he nodded._

_"So..." Alexander started, "Um... why... okay, why didn't you respond back then at that party?"_

_And Aaron didn't reply with what he wanted to say, not all of it. He wanted to say what he had wanted to say back then, 'I was embarrassed and shy, and you were drunk. I was afraid you didn't mean it'. But instead:_

_"You were drunk," he replied. Easy and simple. It wasn't what he wanted to say, but he couldn't, his lips refused to let the words go, his teeth chewing on them. Alexander looked defeated, his friends looked unimpressed._

_"And... what if I told you the same, right now, sober?" Alexander tried and Aaron, at a loss for words and blushing at the implication and turning his head to the side. His heart was racing and his mind desperate for the words he wanted to speak to pass his lips, but it felt like someone had sewn them shut. Alexander waited a moment for an answer and then nodded. "Alright, I see..."_

_"Boo, Burr, boo," Lafayette snarled and Aaron sipped the last of his beer, stood up and almost ran out of the bar, Alexander calling out after him, but he was already gone._

The third time Aaron met Alexander was in a club his friend had dragged him into to 'get him laid', a month after the incident in the bar. He did not want to be here, but his friend Jonathan insisted he join him and at least try to have fun. Aaron tried to explain to him that he didn't have the money to have fun, that he couldn't afford it with his current financial situation (he was in so much debt), but Jonathan would have none of his 'excuses' and dragged him along anyway. Aaron had no fun. He didn't dance, didn't drink any alcohol, he made himself the designated driver, and he got free soft drinks for that reason at the bar. Eventually, he lost sight of Jonathan, who, somewhat drunk but not too drunk to be stupid, had flirted with some guy, and he could imagine that Jonathan had disappeared on him in favour of making out with that guy in the alley beside the club. And suddenly, he felt someone's gaze on him, he felt someone staring, and he looked around until, with a soft gasp and a breath sucked in, he found Alexander sitting at the bar, seven stools away from him. He gave him a small smile and a nod, acknowledging him. He saw Alexander turn around and Aaron nodded. Of course, Alexander would want to have nothing to do with him after the bar incident. He let out a bitter laugh, drowned out by the music that was blaring into his ears. He never wanted to be there. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and whipped his head up, gazing directly into Alexander's eyes, and his breath was stolen from him for a moment and he gulped.

_"Designated driver?" Alexander asked and sat down on the stool next to Aaron. Aaron nodded slowly, even though it had less to do with that and more to do with both his lack of money and the fact that he had no clue how alcohol and his medication would mix and react with each other, and Alexander laughed shortly, "Yeah, me too. Fucking sucks, I can't get drunk enough to deal with their drunk shit. Was I ever like that? Uh-" he suddenly remembered the college incident and smiled sheepishly, "Don't answer that," he scratched the back of his head. "We didn't get to catch up last time, how have you been?" he asked and Aaron sighed._

_"Not too great," he said, staring at his glass that was now empty._

_"Why's that?" Alexander asked, brows furrowed with concern._

_"Just some... financial troubles. I shouldn't talk about it," Aaron glared at his glass._

_"Financial troubles and you go clubbing?" Alexander snorted._

_"Jon dragged me along," he hummed._

_"Who?" Alexander asked._

_"Jonathan... You know, Bellamy?" Aaron said and Alexander nodded, finally._

_"Oh! That guy! Yeah, I think I remember him! Hey, how come you stayed in touch with him and not with me?" Alexander asked, poking Aaron's side playfully._

_"I didn't think you'd want to," Aaron replied and Alexander's brows furrowed._

_"Why would you think that? Oh. Oooohhhh," he sucked in a breath in awkward realisation, "Yeah..."_

_"You avoided me, best as you could, for the remainder of our time in college..." Aaron mumbled, "You had every right to, of course, but it made me think you wouldn't want to keep in touch, so I didn't bother."_

_"I did that. Shit, I did do that. Sorry, Aaron, I was so stupid for doing that. We should really keep in touch. Trade numbers?" he asked with a sheepish grin._

_"I... don't see why not," he sighed and pulled out his phone, handing it over to Alexander. He hadn't changed his password since college and Alexander knew what it was, though Alexander did raise a brow when he tried the password and it worked. He put in his own number and then put in Aaron's number into his own phone._

_"Awesome. I'll text you some time, yeah?" he grinned and Aaron mustered a small smile. Alexander was quiet for a moment, then opened his mouth again, "So... financial troubles, you said?"_

_"Yes," Aaron replied, his mood sour again, "And I'd rather not talk about it."_

_"I mean... I could help?" he said and Aaron raised a brow at him._

_"If this is you taking pity on me, I'd rather not have it, no offence," he mumbled and Alexander frowned._

_"No! It's not pity, I just... I want to help you. What do you need, how much money?" he asked and Aaron rolled his eyes, deciding to humour him._

_"Twenty three thousand," he huffed and Alexander nodded._

_"Done, I'll have it by Monday," he said (It was Saturday)._

_"W-wait, what," Aaron halted, brows furrowed in confusion._

_"No take-backs, I will help you, and there's nothing you can do against it!" Alexander grinned at a completely baffled and dumbfounded Aaron._

Alexander did provide him with enough money to cover his debt by Monday, but instead of twenty-three thousand, he had given him twenty-five thousand dollars and wouldn't let Aaron try to give it back or proclaim that he owed Alexander. Alexander would have none of that and only made Aaron promise to take care of himself and come to him whenever he had financial troubles or otherwise any issues or problem. Aaron couldn't help but wonder how Alexander had gotten that money, but he would never know.

The fourth time they met wasn't a coincidence of running into each other. Alexander had texted him and had asked him if he wanted to meet up and chat, maybe have a coffee. Aaron had agreed and they met in a café Alexander had chosen. It was nice, and he had to admit to himself he missed Alexander's presence in his life. It was nice. He liked it. That is, until the topic they were discussing was switched for another. College, again. And, of course, that party.

_"I never should have drunk so much that night, my head was killing me the next day!" Alexander said, grimacing at the memory of the pain._

_"Yeah, you were so drunk I was afraid you would do something incredibly stupid, like jump out of a window type of stupid," Aaron replied with a soft smile, decidedly ignoring a specific part of the party. Alexander looked down at his coffee in guilt._

_"I mean, I did do something incredibly stupid," he said and Aaron frowned and sighed._

_"You only said that you liked me, it's not a big deal, Alexander," Aaron assured but Alexander shook his head with a groan._

_"No, it's the biggest deal! I told you that I liked you, and then I got pissed when you didn't respond. I guess, yeah, I was drunk, but it still kinda hurt that you just ignored what was basically a declaration of love," he said, glaring down at his coffee._

_"You only said you liked me. I don't call that a declaration of love," Aaron shook his head and Alexander furrowed his brows._

_"You never did tell me, when I asked you in the bar, what would you do if I did that again? But, like, sober. What would you do?" he asked and Aaron opened his mouth, a blush creeping onto his cheeks again, but no sound came out of his mouth. The words had died too long ago to be revived in this moment. He looked to the side._

_"I don't know," he managed to force out of his mouth. But it was a lie. He knew, he knew so well what he would do, but he was scared of it, to some degree. The same fear he had when he sat on a rollercoaster, but with the option to get out before the drop, just halting everything and getting out, just to get back in line in the same rollercoaster, and stop just before the drop again._

_"I see..." Alexander nodded, mood a bit soured, but he moved on from this topic to another, seeing that it made Aaron uncomfortable._

The fifth to 23rd time they met was after this encounter, as they kept running into each other on the street, stopping to chat for five minutes before Alexander said or asked Aaron something that made him look to the side to avoid embarrassment by showing the blush on his cheeks too much, and Alexander took this, falsely so, as a hint that Aaron wanted the conversation to end, and he ended it always with that cue, and left Aaron to his thoughts.

The 24th time they met, it was at work. Aaron had finally gotten a job that paid well and where he would have money left at the end of the month. And it was a job he liked. He was even paid well enough that he could pay for his medication on top of everything else, and the thought made him look forward to this job even more, and the first paycheck at the end of the month. With his medication, he could finally work to his full potential. After the first week of him working there, he was called into his boss's office and he felt his heart sink the moment Thomas had told him that, because, of course, his mind began racing through the past week and his mind kept pointing things out that he probably did wrong. He was sure he did them as asked and correctly, he had even gotten a compliment from Thomas, but he had probably been sarcastic, he thought, Aaron knew he was bad at telling the difference between sarcasm and not sarcasm. He approached the office, anxious and nervous, though he steeled himself and already made plans to send his resume to another company if he was fired today. He could move to a different apartment, too, he still had the two thousand dollars Alexander had given him, because he convinced himself Alexander would ask for them someday, and maybe he could convince himself to spend it on moving, though he was also sure that he could save money and do the moving himself. He realised he still hadn't knocked, and he forced his mind to shut up so he may take in the information of him getting fired after one week. Fuck, that was pathetic. He just hoped that he wouldn't openly cry. He hated his disorder so much sometimes.

_"Come in," Washington's voice came from the other side of the door. Aaron took in a long breath and opened the door, entering the room and closing the door behind him. His boss, Mr Washington, gestured for him to sit down on the chair opposite to him and Aaron nodded, sitting down._

_"You wanted to speak with me?" he asked, careful that his nervousness and anxiety didn't make his voice waver or contort his face. Instead, he forced a calm smile onto his lips._

_"Yes. Let me start by asking: How are you liking this job thus far?" he asked, leaning back in his chair and Aaron nodded._

_"Well, I found I enjoy working here a lot, and thus far I found not a thing that would come to mind that I would complain about," he said, picking his words carefully, his tongue careful in tasting them for the right sweetness._

_"That's good to hear. Now, I must commend you for the past week," Mr Washington smiled, and Aaron forget all of his worries of being fired, a giddy feeling rising in his stomach and he almost couldn't stop himself from grinning. "Really, for the past week you've gotten more work done than some of my employees got done in two months, and the quality of your work appears on par, and even surpasses the quality of some of my other employees' work, and they've been here for years."_

_"I just find my work here fun," Aaron blurted, but kept the smile on his lips despite screaming internally. Mr Washington chuckled and smiled at Aaron and Aaron's heart skipped a beat in relief._

_"If only all of my employees found their work fun. We'd be a lot more productive altogether. But regardless, you've got potential, and I have the feeling you will climb up the ladder quickly-"_

_He was interrupted by a harsh knock on the door, which then burst open without waiting for a response. Alexander burst inside and Mr Washington sighed and rubbed his temple._

_"Sir, Mr Jefferson is sabotaging my work-"_

_"Mr Hamilton, you've been back from vacation for what? A day? An hour? And already you complain about Mr Jefferson? Oh, nevermind that. Have you met Mr Burr?" he said and gestured to Aaron who was looking rather surprised._

_"Burr?" Alexander's gaze finally hit Aaron and he smiled, "Yes, sir, we keep meeting!"_

_"Oh? Is that so?" Mr Washington asked, a brow raised._

_"We were roommates in college," Aaron supplied and Mr Washington nodded, understanding._

_"Didn't think we'd meet at work- Anyway, that's not what I'm here for. Sir, Mr Jefferson keeps sabotaging my work and if he keeps this up I will not be able to finish in time-"_

_"Mr Hamilton, can you not see I am having a conversation with Mr Burr? If you could come back later-" Mr Washington tried, but Alexander interrupted him again and went on a rant about how Mr Jefferson kept sabotaging him and making him look bad. Aaron sighed, he knew that once Alexander got going in was difficult to stop him. Mr Washington seemed to understand the same fact, because he sighed and turned to Aaron and said, "We will have to continue this chat another time. You can go back to work."_

Aaron nodded at this and exited the room, walking so quickly to his office he was almost running. He sighed in utter relief. He didn't get fired after one week after all. He entered his office, seeing Thomas Jefferson standing in his office, waiting angrily. He was afraid this anger was directed towards him, that he didn't do something properly or did something to completely and embarrassingly wrong that Thomas felt the need to yell at him. He would definitely break out in tears at that. He hated his disorder and every symptom that came with it so much this very moment. But Thomas' anger wasn't directed at him, but at Alexander (he felt bad about how relieved he was to find that out), and he kept ranting about him.

_"-and he keeps telling me what to do, keeps telling me my opinion is wrong and how I try to help when he messes up- oh, he calls that 'sabotaging'! I was just trying to show him how much quicker he can get his shit done if he just knew the shortcuts to everything on the keyboard, but no!" Thomas ranted and Aaron nodded, humming, his leg bouncing up and down, unaware that he was doing it, as he listened to Thomas rant._

_"Well, he always preferred writing by hand in college," Aaron said and Thomas looked at him funny._

_"Wait, you went to college together?" he asked and Aaron nodded._

_"We were roommates," he said and Thomas' eyes widened even more._

_"You were **roommates**?! How did you survive?!" he yelped and Aaron shrugged._

_"I mean, we generally kept out of each other's business. Though, he did always ask me to type his writing, since he preferred to write it by hand and didn't have the time writing it on a computer again. I do type fast and I was endlessly grateful that he has the neatest handwriting you'll ever see. Kept my work very simple, and it was good practice because he would usually come to me about it at the very last minute. Imagine, he once gave me a twenty-page essay with less than an hour to get it printed. He was lucky I could hype- I mean, focus on it really well. Oh, sorry, I've been talking too much," he suddenly realised and looked to the side, avoiding Thomas' gaze. Thomas raised a brow._

_"Well, one thing is clear, you must have some strong patience if you could survive with Hamilton as your roommate," he grinned and Aaron kept looking to the side._

_"I have to work, I'm sorry," Aaron said and Thomas raised a brow again, but he left regardless._

And this went on for some time like this. Aaron kept running into Alexander at work, which wasn't bad at all because Alexander made an extra effort to avoid any topic that made Aaron uncomfortable in any way and managed to keep in him a conversation for longer and longer. Thomas and Alexander kept ranting at him about the other and Aaron tried his best to be the mediator between the two. It was difficult, making them see the other's point of view, and sometimes Aaron was accused by one of the two to be siding with one over the other, despite the fact that Aaron didn't agree with either of them most of the time, but understood the points both parties were defending. This, eventually, led to Mr Washington seeking him out specifically.

"You wanted to speak to me?" Aaron asked as he walked through the door and closed it behind him, making his way to the chair in front of Mr Washington's desk.

"Yes," Mr Washington said, massaging his own temples.

"Is... Are you alright?" he asked as he sat down, concern in his voice.

"You've grown comfortable in the company, Mr Burr?" Mr Washington asked instead of answering and Aaron was so taken aback by the question, it took him a second or more to even think about the response.

"Well- I- Yeah- Yes," he cleared his throat, "I have grown more comfortable in the company."

"That's good," Mr Washington nodded. Aaron waited and began playing with the hems of his sleeves and his leg threatened to start bouncing as well. He noticed it and frowned internally and sat up straighter, forcing his legs to still and instead he put his hands together in his lap, discreetly pulling off the ring he wore on his thumb, and discreetly played with it instead.

"Is... Is there something else you wanted to speak with me about?" he finally asked and Mr Washington nodded.

"We have a big project ahead of us. It isn't just big, but of enormous importance. It is so important, in fact, that I don't dare let anyone but my best employees take it on. Unfortunately... Those would be Mr Hamilton and Mr Jefferson," Mr Washington sighed and Aaron felt a strong pang of pain at that, even though he knew he had no right to feel rejected in any way.

"I see why you would be worrying," Aaron nodded and Mr Washington copied this motion. Aaron turned the ring in his hand around and around. "And you called me, because?"

"Well, Mr Burr, I've noticed that, while the fighting hasn't gone down, their arguments were resolved quicker than ever before, and I heard you had something to do with it. Did I hear correct?" he asked and Aaron nodded.

"I suppose you did. I don't particularly enjoy them arguing, as I imagine I'm not the only one, and I tried my best to mediate between the two," he said and Mr Washington nodded.

"And you haven't any prior professional experience in that?" he asked and Aaron furrowed his brows in confusion and shook his head.

"No, I haven't?" he replied, his voice rising at the end to signal his confusion. Mr Washington nodded.

"Tell me, how do you mediate between them?" he asked and Aaron hummed, trying to find words to explain it. This was made difficult by the fact that he never thought about or analysed what he did to make them resolve the conflict. He would just have to improvise, which he hated, because he tended to start to talk utter clumsy nonsense, trying to explain.

"Forgive me, it's difficult to explain," he indirectly warned, suddenly wishing Mr Washington knew him better than a boss/employee relationship would allow so that he understood what that sentence actually meant. "I listen to their conflict before I begin to, uh, intervene and I make them explain to me what's going on and where they think the problem lies. Then I listen to the points they were trying to make and have the other one repeat it in their own words. Usually A- Sorry. Usually Mr Hamilton realises what Mr Jefferson wanted to say after he put it in his own words, he always had a problem understanding another's opinion if he... if he, um... if he can't quite grasp it because it wasn't explained in a way that he's familiar with, but if that doesn't help I explain it differently than either of them. It turns out most, if not all of their arguments start because they don't know how to explain their points in a way that the other can see where they're coming from and actually understand. I find it's much easier to make them find a compromise if they understand the other."

Mr Washington nodded, "That makes sense."

"I suppose as an outsider to their argument I have the added benefit of seeing and understanding both sides of the argument in a more objective manner," Aaron said and Mr Washington nodded again.

"Mr Burr, I would like you to also work on this project," Mr Washington said and Aaron visibly perked up in surprise, making Mr Washington smile, "With you, I think things would get done much faster, and with better quality than Mr Hamilton and Mr Jefferson could manage if it was only them, specifically because they tend to argue more than they work. Will you agree to this position? For the sake of this company and my sanity?" Aaron let out the softest snort at this comment and nodded.

"Yes, of course, I accept!" he smiled, a real smile and pushed the ring back onto his right thumb. Mr Washington sighed in relief.

"My sanity and this company thanks you. I will let Mr Hamilton and Mr Jefferson know about the project and to approach you with it so you may begin working on it. Expect them to come barging into your office, screaming, in an hour. I recommend ear plugs," Mr Washington joked and Aaron nodded, getting up.

"I'll keep that in mind. I suppose I should resume my work until Mr Hamilton and Mr Jefferson approach me?" he asked with a smiled and Mr Washington nodded, sending him out of the office.

Aaron left Mr Washington's office and he was so very glad to have a man like him as his boss. He seemed rather understanding, and Aaron liked the fact that Mr Washington had yet to make him want to break out in tears, which was a good thing, considering the fact that so many things so easily triggered this reaction in him. Though, this big task he had been given made him somewhat anxious and his insecurities made him doubt that he could take care of this responsibility in a satisfying manner. Of course, he wouldn't let his insecurities have a chance to show and make themselves known while he worked or in his work.

Mr Washington was right when he predicted that Thomas and Alexander would come barging into his office screaming, and he wished he had heeded his boss's advice and gotten some ear plugs to stuff his ears with.

"He wants us to work together, what the fuck! I can't work with him!" Alexander yelled and Thomas shoved him out of the way.

"Aaron you have to tell Washington that Hamilton and I cannot work together! Has he become mad?! This gremlin will kill me before we can get a single word on paper!" Thomas exclaimed, wildly gesturing with his arms.

"Who are you calling a gremlin, you purple beanstalk!" Alexander hissed and shoved Thomas back.

"Oh great insult, 10/10," Thomas scoffed.

Aaron sunk back in his chair at all the yelling. Suddenly, he remembered he hadn't taken his medication that day. He groaned at himself, and turned around in his chair, looking for the small plastic bottle with his medication, but he couldn't find them. He straightened up, confused, very panicked, and began rummaging through his things, through his back, repeating a mantra of _Shit, shit, shit, where are they, shit, shit, shit, where are they_ in his head. Finally, Alexander and Thomas noticed his distress and Alexander put a hand on his shoulder, startling him slightly.

"What's wrong?" he asked and Aaron gulped, glancing at Thomas, and he frowned.

"You haven't seen a small, plastic bottle, have you? Orange, about this big?" he asked Alexander quietly, showing the size of the bottle with his fingers. Alexander looked at him funny, and suddenly realised.

"Ohhhh," he said, "Your... Wait, yeah, I got them. You dropped them in my office this morning," he said, reaching into the pocket of his suit and pulling out the orange bottle Aaron had been looking for.

"Oh, you don't know how relieved I am you found them. Thank you, Alexander" he said, so incredibly relieved and too the pill bottle from Alexander. Thomas raised a confused brow at this.

"What are those?" he asked and Aaron frowned, lips sticking together in a tight, thin line and he looked to the side. Alexander immediately recognized this cue and stepped in.

"Don't ask, Jefferson," he said in a warning tone. Thomas completely missed what he meant and furrowed his brows.

"What's so bad about asking what those are?" he asked.

"You're making him uncomfortable," Alexander stated warningly.

"Really," he scoffed, "And you know that how?"

"Okay, fine," he cleared his throat, "Aaron's body language and its meaning 101: Head to the side, avoiding your gaze, wide or narrowed eyes, lips pressed tightly together and refusing to speak, sometimes resulting in fleeing the scene. Those are the signs that you made him uncomfortable. Be a good student and learn to apply this knowledge," Alexander growled and Thomas snorted.

"You must have made him uncomfortable so many times then to learn this, thick as you are," Thomas snapped and Alexander was ready to throw a punch. Aaron opened the pill bottle and took out a pill, throwing it into his mouth and grabbing a bottle of water from his bag, swallowing down the pill with the water.

"Alexander, Thomas, you came in here for a reason," he said, not looking at either of them. He wasn't used to taking his medication in front of other people.

"Oh, yeah, right, I forgot. The project," he remembered.

"Yes, we are supposed to begin working on a big project of high importance. Should we begin?" he asked, looking up at Alexander and Thomas. They both reluctantly nodded.

They soon began to work on the project. Only then realising just how big it was gonna be. Aaron, while intimidated by it, was sure that they could manage to get out a decent product in the end, if they could manage to work together instead of arguing. He meant Thomas and Alexander because he knew he would have to help resolve every oncoming conflict, which would distract him from his own part of the work. In the end, after an hour of discussing the project and another hour of planning it, they agreed to split the work evenly. This project would take them the better part of a month, perhaps less if Aaron took some work home and advised Thomas to do the same. Thomas was offended that Aaron didn't tell Alexander the same, accusing him of favouring him and Aaron, with an intense pain of rejection, had to explain to him that he knew Alexander would take his work home with him anyway, and that he would need to be stopped from that, rather than encouraged to do so.

"It's not good for him. He favours work over sleep and we need him to function when he tells us his progress," he explained, and Thomas was still grumpy about it and Aaron gave up on trying to convince him he didn't favour Alexander over him in this setting.

A week into their work, they were progressing faster than Aaron had anticipated, which Aaron was glad for, because they would finish quicker and be able to revise and redo things they weren't quite satisfied with after having detached themselves from it for a while. It was an easy way to find mistakes and things that just didn't fit. He used this technique with every project he had a lot of time left on. Wait a bit, a few days should suffice, and look and his work again. This way he would have detached himself from his work and be able to view it from a more objective view rather than a biased one and it would be easier to admit that something just wasn't done well. He did take enough pride in his work for this technique to function for him.

They were working in the same room together, and the quick pressing of the keyboards served as a good background noise for Aaron to work with. While he would have preferred his playlists of instrumental music, each playlist for a certain mood, whether a mood he was in or a mood he needed to achieve to complete his work. It had taken him a while to put together these playlists, but in the end, they worked to keep him motivated when he was listening and otherwise served as a great background noise for him to drown out, a noise that wouldn't distract him from his focus. Indeed, he was in such a deep concentration, hyperfocusing, he had researched some time ago, that he didn't notice Thomas and Alexander starting another argument until one of them started yelling, ripping Aaron out of his hyperfocused state and threw him back into reality with an intense force. He snapped his head to Thomas and Alexander. Alexander was holding his right wrist away from Thomas, who made to grab it again.

"Stop that, don't touch me!" Alexander yelled.

"I just want to see your mark! We keep running into each other and I want to make sure I won't be stuck with you as my soulmate for the rest of my life," Thomas yelled back.

"I said: Don't touch me! You have no right to demand to see my soulmark! Have you any idea how invasive that is?!" Alexander yelled again, stepping back, towards Aaron. Aaron stood up abruptly.

"What's going on?" he asked and Thomas raised a brow.

"Don't tell me you didn't hear any of this," Thomas said, disbelief coating his voice.

"I... I was focusing..." Aaron said, looking to the ground with furrowed brows and narrowed eyes, suddenly feeling shame and the pain that came with it.

"Leave him, Jefferson. Just because you have no clue how to get into the zone doesn't mean other people don't know how to. Also: Keep the fuck away from my soulmark," Alexander hissed.

"Why do you want to see his soulmark?" Aaron asked.

"You probably got to see it, and you saw mine. Tell me, are they complimentary or complementary in any way?" Thomas asked.

"I've never seen his soulmark, and I don't remember seeing yours. And either way, it's not my right to tell you anything about anyone's soulmark. That's just rude, Thomas," Aaron furrowed his brows and Thomas frowned. Aaron looked at the clock in the room and sighed. "It's late enough to stop for today, I think. Alexander, that means you, too. I swear I will take your work away from you so you can't work on it at home. This is not healthy," Aaron said and Alexander groaned.

"Alright, alright! Sheesh, you worry-wart," Alexander grumbled and deposited his work in the shelf in his office, which he then both locked. "Oh, hey, Aaron, could you give me a ride home? My car broke down this morning."

"How'd you get to work?" Aaron asked.

"I got Herc to drive me. I would have asked you, but I know you always drive to work much too early to avoid being late, so I didn't bother calling," Alexander explained.

And with this, their workday ended and Aaron was driving Alexander home. Alexander kept looking down at his wrist and held it tightly in his hand with a thoughtful expression on his features, brows furrowed in deep thought. They arrived at Alexander's house and Aaron parked in front of it, waiting for Alexander to get out of his car. But Alexander kept sitting there, glaring at his wrist. Eventually, Aaron turned to Alexander.

"What's wrong?" he asked and Alexander snapped his head up and looked at him in surprise, then looked outside to see they had already arrived.

"Oh, nothing, I- Thanks for driving me," he said, about to open the car door, but Aaron, despite his head screaming at him not to, grabbed Alexander's arm and stopped him.

"Alexander, what's wrong? You... you kept looking at your wrist and..." Aaron tried and Alexander frowned and grumbled.

"Yeah, it's stupid..." Alexander smiled and waved it off, but Aaron could see s clearly this smile was fake.

"It's not stupid if it makes you feel bad," Aaron blurted and Alexander looked at him surprised and he snorted.

"Well, alright... I've been thinking about what Jefferson said to me... I don't think you heard it, actually. He... Well, I had a conversation with Madison before, about how I met you and some other times we met, and apparently, he told Jefferson. I swear I'll never talk to Madison about anything again... Anyway... Jefferson said that he finds it peculiar how we seem to just keep running into each other, and he theorised we might be soulmates, you and I. Well, I said, stupid as I am, that he and I also keep running into each other. That's when he wanted to see my mark... And it got me thinking. We do keep running into each other, I think... C-can I... Would you show me your... mark?" he asked, glaring at his wrist.

"I-..." Aaron blushed and whipped his head to the side. Alexander looked up and saw this and nodded.

"That's alright. Sorry, it wasn't in my right to ask anyway," he laughed awkwardly and Aaron shook his head.

"No, it's... fine, just... I mean, I did think about this, too," Aaron admitted. Alexander raised a brow.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"We do keep running into each other and... It's probably me overthinking everything, but... I have been thinking about this as a possibility..." he forced out of his mouth, and it was true. He did keep thinking about this whenever he wasn't distracting himself with something else.

"So... Um... Do you want to... check?" Alexander asked, slowly and Aaron's grip on the wheel tightened.

"I don't know... I'm..." Aaron didn't want to be entirely upfront with everything and Alexander nodded.

"Scared? Nervous?" he asked and Aaron nodded.

"I suppose so, yes. I mean... Would it change anything? Either way, I mean. Would it change if it turns out we aren't soulmates? And if it turns out we are?" Aaron shared his worries indirectly and Alexander nodded.

"I wouldn't be disappointed if you were my soulmate, if that's what you mean. I'd much rather have you as my soulmate than Jefferson... And I don't think it will change too much between us? If it turns out we aren't soulmates, we will just both have learned something new. And if it turns out we are... well... It won't change a thing for me. Of course, I don't know if it would change anything for you..." Alexander looked down at his covered wrist.

"Okay..." Aaron breathed and nodded his head, "Okay, okay..."

"You mean?" Alexander asked and Aaron nodded.

"Y-yeah. Yeah, let's find out, um..." he breathed and forced his hands to let go of the wheel. He gripped at the hem of his right sleeve and pulled it up, uncovering his wrist, but holding it in a way that Alexander couldn't yet see. Alexander copied this, nervous, and held out his wrist, mark down, out to Aaron.

"On three? One, two, three," he said and they both turned their wrists around. Aaron kept looking to the side, avoiding looking at their wrists. He didn't want to find out if they completed the other.

He was ripped out of his thoughts by Alexander who let out a soft gasp. Aaron chanced a look in his direction, decidedly ignoring their wrists and he saw a mesmerized look on Alexander's features, eyes sparkling with brilliant excitement and awe.

"Aaron," Alexander breathed, nigh speechless, "We match."

Aaron sucked in a hissed breath and glanced down at their wrists. His eyes widened, a blush bloomed on his cheeks like a red rose. There, upon their wrists, lay the story, printed within their skin and soul, of how they belonged to each other. Alexander's soulmark was a dancer, lifting something into the air, but there were parts that were missing, but its shape where it should have been was distinctly visible. Aaron's soulmark was also the dancer, but it was the one that was lifted, parts missing in the shape of hands and a head, which lined up perfectly with Alexander's mark. Aaron's breath hitched at the sight, his eyes blown wide, his heart picking up a steady, but racing pace as if racing for the finish line.

"W-we match," Aaron repeated, quietly. He couldn't believe this for a second, he didn't dare to. "This must be a dream," he breathed, "A wonderful, terrible dream."

"Why terrible?" Alexander asked, worry coating his voice in a slick sauce.

"As soon as I wake up, this will not be true, and that's terrible," Aaron stared at their wrists, their soulmarks and he felt a yearning inside himself, a churning desire, cold and hot, twisting and turning in his gut, contorting into knots that strangled him. It was the desire, the need to see their marks complete.

Alexander looked at him, and he knew he felt the same that Aaron felt, calling for them to complete their marks, to find each other. It called for him to move his head forward, leaning closer, leaning in, and capturing Aaron's lips in a kiss, and it was like he had unleashed a storm upon them. A feverish storm with lightning striking their senses into a flurry of emotions, desire, yearning. He felt Aaron lean into the kiss and his happiness could scarcely be put into words and dared not attempt this on its own. He knew, close as he could get in his defining and describing of what he felt, it wouldn't encompass it all, like a galaxy being born and dying, burning out. The warmth of a candle freshly lit, the coldness of the kiss of a snowflake against your skin. The softest brush a feather could bestow upon you. The most gentle note sung into his ears, a scream, a shattering of his eardrums. Drums of war and a lyre singing of peace. His heart raced, beat and quivered and trembled in a nervous, happy, excited flutter, fluttering like a butterfly, buzzing like a busy bee, zipping from flower to flower. He was home and he was in another galaxy, a strange place he didn't know. Such contradictions, lovely contradictions. He felt a tingling in his wrist and felt Aaron holding it with his hand upon which was his mark imprinted.

And as they pulled away, breathless, they got lost in each other's eyes, one exploring the freedom of the skies and ocean and the other exploring the dark and vast void of the universe itself. They didn't need to glance at their marks to find they were completed, their wrists tingling and a dark blush dancing in delight upon their cheeks. Alexander lifted his left hand and tenderly put it to Aaron's cheek, who gently leaned into the soft touch to his skin, yet they were still lost in the other's eyes with scarcely a hope of finding their way out. A revelation, it felt like. Softly, Alexander pressed their foreheads together.

"Sublime," he whispered, "Divine, brilliant, galaxies of stars, a masterpiece."

Aaron's couldn't reply, too lost in the eyes of his soulmate, for the first time in his life, he was sure of something. This moment, breathless, hot and cold, a heart beating so fast and hard he nigh feared it would jump out of his chest into his soulmate's embrace, seeking to be closer to him than it was physically possible, it was terrifying and exciting all the same, like the feeling you are meant to feel on a rollercoaster. With a breath exhaled, which held so much relief in it, it startled him and Alexander, he closed his eyes and brought their lips together again, and again, and again, tasting, feeling, exploring, like uncharted territory. It wasn't long that they began grabbing and clinging and clutching at each other, as though horribly terrified that this wasn't real, thinking, with fear, this might be a cruelly vivid dream, tormenting them when they wake up with dashed hopes and wishes and desires never to be satiated. They trembled in each other's arms, so happy, so infinitely _glad_ they found their soulmate.

Eventually, because Alexander leant forward into Aaron so much Aaron's naked shoulder accidentally pressed the car horn, it then honking, startling them out of their daze.  
They blinked at each other, surprised, then began laughing at how silly that had been and Alexander gazed up at Aaron with such unbridled admiration and love that it made Aaron's knees weak and his heart melt as he gazed back at him with quite similar emotions.

"Should we take this inside?" Alexander asked, a goofy, love-struck grin on his lips, bringing Aaron's head and lips closer to his again. Aaron nodded quietly, soft eyes dancing with such happiness he could hardly contain it, fidgeting the whole time, barely being able to suppress the urge to flap his arms as he had done as a kid and teenager.

Though they were happy and glad they found each other, they didn't find it all that necessary to gloat that they had found their soulmate, and thus, for the next few weeks, nobody knew. Not at work and not in their friend group. It was more done to keep Aaron comfortable, as he wasn't comfortable sharing too much, though this had changed a bit with Alexander, who made him willing to share a lot more about himself than he usually ever would even consider. It changed a lot for them, and yet so little. They were the same at work as always, with only minor differences like Aaron picking Alexander up to drive him to work and back home and vice versa. Or Alexander sneaking a kiss whenever Thomas left the office they were all working in, leaving Aaron with a goofy grin on his face and squirming and fidgeting happily in his seat, which Thomas ended up questioning a lot, with Aaron avoiding to answer and Alexander waving it off as not important.

Eventually, the project was done, all of them relieved that they could stop working on something that huge, it had been quite draining, especially in the last five days before the deadline. But, in the end, they had managed just fine, even better than fine, actually. Mr Washington was more than pleased with their work and congratulated them on it, and personally thanked Aaron for keeping Thomas and Alexander's arguing and fighting to an absolute minimum.

"I owe you my sanity, Mr Burr, thank you for keeping things orderly between them," Mr Washington told Aaron just as he had sent out Thomas and Alexander. Aaron beamed on the inside, chest swelling with pride, though he was careful to keep a glad smile on his lips as to not overdo it.

"Thank you, sir," he nodded and Washington smiled.

"I suppose I should raise your pay for what you've done in this project, both keeping the two of them civil and the work you contributed to it. You've completed it in half the time I anticipated. I see the question in your eyes, 'What about the deadline?', yes, yes. You should know, whenever I'm forced to assign Mr Jefferson and Mr Hamilton to the same project, and I make sure to avoid this situation at all costs, their arguing and fighting will delay their work and progress so much they will forget about the deadline and be extremely close to missing it, which is why it causes me anxiety every time I'm forced to assign them to one project. It is absolute torture," Mr Washington said, though a gentle smile was on his lips despite his complaining.

"They were a bit of a handful, in the beginning, I admit, but I suppose we found a rhythm, more or less, a routine, if you will. Arguments became easier to resolve, actually," Aaron explained and Mr Washington nodded, smiling.

"You're a miracle worker, everyone's impressed, myself included. I should assign you three to more projects. You are planning on staying with this company?" he asked and Aaron nodded.

"Well, I didn't plan on not staying," he said with a smile that mimicked Mr Washington's, who nodded in approval. Lies, Aaron hissed internally, I made plans for when you'll fire me, countless of them, an alphabetized list.

"Then I see a bright future ahead of you. I'm tempted to say you have a fair chance to be promoted relatively soon," Mr Washington said and Aaron sucked in a sharp breath through his nose.

"Thank you, sir," he said, trying his best not to squirm and fidget happily. This was not the time for this.

"Alright, you have more work to return to, I'm just keeping you from it at this point," Mr Washington said with a smile and Aaron nodded, leaving the room.

Once the door was closed behind him, he couldn't help the prideful, excited, happy grin that beamed on his face, and he practically ran to his office where Alexander had agreed to meet him. He wasn't even quite at the door when he heard Alexander and Thomas' voices yelling inside. He raised a brow, then furrowed them, gone was his happy mood, replaced with instantaneous annoyance and some anger. He entered his office, expecting them to be at each other's throats or something similar. He didn't quite anticipate Thomas shoving Alexander away from himself and keeping an orange pill bottle out of Alexander's reach (which wasn't that difficult, considering his height). Aaron recognised the pill bottle. It was his.

"Wh-what's going on here?" he asked, the question directed at Thomas more than Alexander, yet it was Alexander who answered, pointing an accusatory finger at Thomas, who flinched back, hiding the bottle behind his back, like a child would.

"He took your bottle!" Alexander said, voice seething with anger, but not directed at Aaron.

"Thomas, give me that back, please," Aaron said, calmly approaching Thomas and holding out his hand. Thomas groaned and returned the bottle into Aaron's possession. "Why did you take it in the first place?" Aaron calmly asked, though he was angry.

"I wanted to know why you take those pills, and what they were, since you avoid answering whenever I ask," Thomas explained.

"This is a serious breach of both my trust and privacy, the latter being something to which I am entitled to. I don't have to tell you what these are for, Thomas, and you had no reason- and, no, your curiosity is not a reason- to try and get these answers to your questions by force, which this is. I don't care that you want to know, I don't care how much curiosity eats away at you. This is not a thing you should ever do, not ever," Aaron growled, his anger dripping more and more into his voice.

"So, you have ADHD? That's what those pills are for," Thomas asked and Aaron flinched and looked to the side. Thomas wasn't satisfied with this as an answer. "Do you?" he asked again and Aaron forced his lips to open.

"No," he spat past clenched teeth, taking Thomas by surprise. "ADD, though you have no right to get any more information on this."

"You don't look like you have ADD?" Thomas commented and Aaron shot him a glare.

"Really, Jefferson?" Alexander asked incredulously, "What the fuck does someone with ADD look like?"

"Someone who can't ever pay attention and has to move all the time? I don't know!" Thomas scoffed, "How am I supposed to know?"

"You ignorant brat," Alexander looked at him like he couldn't believe what he had just heard, "You said he doesn't look like he has ADD and then you speak this garbage? You could have, I don't know, done some research?"

"Why would I? I never had to deal with it until now," Thomas spat back and Aaron took a step back, that very familiar feeling of rejection hitting him with almost full force. 'Never had to deal with it' like it was a bad thing.

"Wow, thanks, Thomas, for your support. Sorry, you have to deal with it now and did so for the past two months, you must be exhausted from that," Aaron spat sarcastically, crossing his arms and looking away, clearly hurt.

"That's not what I meant-"

"Well, it's what you said. If you don't mean it like that, don't say it like that. If I had to learn this, so do you," Aaron shrunk in on himself, avoiding Thomas' look with a grumble. "Well, maybe you can put some research into it now. Now that you have to 'deal with it'. I kindly ask you to please leave my office."

"Aaron, I'm sorry just-"

"Please leave my office. You have abused my trust, ignored any boundaries regarding my private property, and you've insulted me. I'd rather you leave now before another thing is added to the list," he grumbled and approached his chair, sitting down in it and waiting for Thomas to leave, which he eventually, and very reluctantly, did. He was clearly sorry for his attitude and what he had said, but it was evident that he didn't understand just how much that statement alone had hurt, and the fact that he decidedly remained ignorant.

"Are you alright?" Alexander approached Aaron and Aaron shook his head, turning to Alexander who gasped as he found Aaron's eyes were watery. He pulled Aaron into a hug and rubbed his back while Aaron did his best to suppress his tears.

"Nope," Aaron shook his head, "Absolutely not, I just need a moment."

"Of course. Boy, did he overreact about all this. What a jerk. I can just imagine how he'll react if he finds out we're soulmates," Alexander mused, kissing Aaron's forehead to help comfort him.

"You're soulmates?" came a voice from the door and Alexander whipped his head around, while Aaron froze in his seat. James Madison stood in the doorway, some files in his arms, a brow raised in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" Aaron asked, brows furrowed.

"Mr Washington asked me to bring you these files to work on and sort, and here I stumble upon the two of you, soulmates, it appears. Um... Congratulations, I suppose!" he cleared his throat.

"Th-thanks?" Aaron said, got up from his chair and took the files James was holding.

"I take it, I'm the first one who knows?" he asked and Aaron nodded quietly, dropping the files onto his desk. "I'll try to keep it to myself then," James said and left.

"We have five to ten minutes before Thomas finds out and storms us again," Aaron groaned, closing the door to his office and locking it. "I am not in the mood for that."

Alexander frowned in worry and approached Aaron, putting a hand on his shoulder and then pulling him into a tender embrace, placing a gentle kiss onto his lips in an attempt, a successful attempt, to comfort Aaron.

"It'll be okay, Jefferson will be the only one to make a big deal out of it. I mean, okay, since he knows Laf, my friends will find out too and also make a big deal out of it, but I assure you, I'll make sure they won't bother you about it," he smiled, their lips so close to each other and he kissed Aaron again. A thrill sparked through them and Aaron grinned into the kiss.

"Come on, we need to get back to our work," Aaron grinned as he pulled away, thoroughly love-struck, almost getting lost again in his soulmate's eyes. Alexander whined.

"Must we part?" he asked with a pout.

"I'm afraid so," Aaron chuckled, "We'll have the entire evening to ourselves."

"I love the sound of that," he grinned. Aaron unlocked the door to his office so Alexander could leave and, with one last kiss, he left.

Aaron forgot to lock the door, and he cursed his forgetfulness for this as Thomas came barging into his office, starling him to yelp and jump in his seat.

"SINCE WHEN ARE YOU SOULMATES?!" Thomas came running in and yelling. Aaron groaned internally but only glared at Thomas lightly, in annoyance.

"Well, since the mark appears on one the moment one is born, so, I would suppose, since we were born," Aaron replied dryly.

"How the hell are you two soulmates!" Thomas yelled, gesturing around wildly.

"Fate has a hand in it, I believe," he answered and turned to his desk again, typing away quickly, waiting for Thomas to either leave or continue ranting.

"But why him? Why not literally anyone else?" Thomas groaned and Aaron raised a brow at him.

"Have anyone in mind?" he asked, continuing to type.

"Anyone, literally anyone but him! This changes everything! Everything!" Thomas exclaimed and Aaron shook his head.

"Well, it doesn't change a thing for me, or for Alexander. And you are not affected by this minimum change. I don't see how you would be complaining about this, which has no effect on you, nor a negative effect on me or Alexander," Aaron said, completely aware of how cold that sounded. But he knew it wouldn't hurt Thomas as much as it would him.

"How can you not see that this changes everything! You'll start taking his side when he and I fight-"

"Thomas, I'll stop you right there. Alexander and I found out a while ago, a few weeks into the project. Has anything changed about how I behave at work?" he asked and Thomas narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brows in thought.

"Um, I mean... I don't-"

"Exactly. Us finding out that we're soulmates changes nothing of significance. Some minor things have changed for us, but really, you have no right to inquire further. I ask you, yet again, to leave my office. I'm sure you have work to return to," Aaron said, his eyes not once leaving the screen.

Thomas finally left again, with a rough huff, and Aaron sighed, massaging his temples. After a silent minute, he returned to working, his fingers dancing over the keys gracefully in a quick dance, translating his thoughts into words and sentences, something he had a lot of troubles with, in general, but did get better at the more he had practised, and he did practise it a lot. With his thoughts racing ten miles a second, it was and always had been difficult to translate his racing thoughts into words, no less words that made sense, but he was glad he was getting better at catching up to his thoughts.

He grinned, thinking back to college when Alexander had confessed to having a similar problem as he had. He had helped Alexander, making him not slow down when he wrote, but pick up a quicker pace. While this resulted in Alexander's otherwise neat handwriting to drawl and crawl over the page and his wording sound terrible, Aaron had reminded him this was the first draft, and then had made him rewrite it, but slower this time, to carefully think how to convey what he meant properly. It had taken Aaron a lot of time before he had developed this technique for himself, but he was happy he could pass it on and teach Alexander to make his life easier.

He grinned goofily at the thought of Alexander. Back then, at that party in college, neither of them knew, neither of them knew what they were to each other. In hindsight, Aaron wished they had asked each other to see the other's mark, perhaps they could have been this happy earlier. But he was glad that they did keep meeting, until they found each other.

**Author's Note:**

> Why do I keep writing new works instead of working on "Forgotten; Worshipped"? I keep getting new ideas, but ideas that aren't big enough for more than a oneshot or a oneshot split in three parts (and then a sequel), and there is this intense need to write it and post it, but I swear I only have one more idea (if I even decide to write it) and then I get back to "Forgotten; Worshipped", I swear, I'm on it.


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